Traitor
by VanillaAshes
Summary: Can a friend turn against you? And what does it take to brand a former friend a 'Traitor? Well, reality starts to set in for the Avengers when Natasha joins the KGB and ices them all out. But can Clint stop the attack against his family before it's too late? Set after AoU. Warning: Character Death.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

 **Summary: Can a friend turn against you? And what does it take to brand a former friend a 'Traitor'? Well, reality starts to set in for the Avengers when Natasha joins the KGB and ices them all out. But can Clint stop the attack against his family before it's too late? Set after AoU. Warning: Character Death.**

 **Characters: Clint Barton; Natasha Romanoff; Tony Stark; Steve Rogers; Laura Barton; Lila, Cooper and Nate Barton, and more.**

 **Hey! I know I'm crazy for starting to post a third story. But this is mostly written and the other two are chapters ahead, so fingers crossed I keep up with them all!**

 **I started this story about four months ago. I'm posting now instead of waiting to finish it or finish another story, because I want it all out and finished before Civil War!**

 **Hope you like it!**

 **Throughout the story, I am helped by two amazing individuals, Sanctuaria and ThisVioletofMine!**

 **Also... my brother may have helped with the odd idea here and there :D**

 **Final Warning: Character death!**

* * *

Clint's face was hard as he concealed the overwhelming worry and feeling of betrayal. He barely glanced behind him to check if Steve was still on his tail- he didn't care if he had any backup. He glided through the window effortlessly, his arms taut under pressure as he aimed his arrow at the first assailant he saw; who just so happened to be holding a gun against the head of his wife, Laura.

A quick once over with his eyes and Clint could tell that his wife was already injured. He glanced around, counting only five men, but the rest of his family was missing. He held back the panic; maybe they were in one of the two safe rooms in this house. "Let her go," he demanded.

One of the men laughed. "One against five? How about we give our demands and she might just live."

Clint felt his blood boiling. Laura wasn't defenseless- she had countless fighting classes and was a really good fighter; it would have taken quite a bit to have her standing still like she was. She wasn't even looking at him, just staring at the ground. Where were his children? "What do you want?"

"The Avengers, d-" The man began. He was obviously going to say 'dead', but was interrupted.

"Surprise, we're here, let her go," Tony stated as he walked into the room, blasting three of them in a row. Steve stepped in too and he noted how the assailants were looking less sure of themselves. Of course it was easier to go up against innocent children and their mother, but now that the Avengers had turned up...

"Last chance," Clint uttered, pulling his string back a little more, ignoring the ache on his arms; it had been a long day.

In the time allotted, one man lowered his weapon, Steve taking it from him. Then it seemed to happen in slow motion, Steve throwing his shield to hit one man out of the way as he pulled the arms of the surrendered one behind his back; Tony shooting three more, getting shot once in return; Clint firing two arrows simultaneously through the heads of the men holding his wife.

As Clint stepped forward and caught Laura from dropping to the ground, Steve and Tony took care of the other assailants easily. "Laura."

"Where's Cooper? And Lila? Are they okay?" She asked him, rushed, the utter panic evident on her face.

Clint's breath left him; she hadn't mentioned their other son. Maybe that meant she knew he was okay- or knew he wasn't. "I don't know, we'll search… what about Nathaniel?"

"He's okay," She answered and Clint relaxed ever so slightly, but her next words made him tense up even more. "Nat's got him."

"She was here?" Clint asked, and he could see Tony and Steve looking at him and knew what they thought; they thought that she had sold him out, brought them here to kill his family. But part of him still couldn't believe that she was a traitor and had gone back to KGB. He knew her, and he knew she couldn't have done that. But, at the same time, he didn't think they could trust her anymore. There weren't many people who knew he even had a family, let alone their location. It was getting harder and harder to believe in her.

Laura nodded in confirmation, her hand pressing against the bullet wound on her leg.

"We need to get you out of here,"

"Not until I find my children!" Laura replied instantly.

War Machine and Vision flew in- where the hell had they been? "The surrounding area is clear."

"Any sign of my children?" Clint asked immediately. He received solemn looks as War Machine shook his head. "Vision, can you take my wife to get medical treatment? She's been shot."

"I'm not leaving."

"Yes, you are. I will find them, but I need to know that you are safe; that you're okay," Clint expressed, holding the side of her face as they kissed before pulling away and standing up. He needed to search; saferooms first, then hiding places. He just hoped he wouldn't find something he didn't want to.

He and Steve ventured out first, heading to the first safe room, which was located in a trap door under the stairs; it was empty. He heard the clunking metal of War Machine's and Tony's armor as they searched too. Steve followed him up the stairs, glancing into his daughter's bedroom. The bed was unmade and there appeared to have been a small struggle; there were two men dead on her floor. He forced himself to keep walking to the second safe room, which was through his bedroom, and saw six men on his floor. He didn't need to check to know they were also dead.

He stepped over them carelessly and pressed the button which would usually open the safe room; when it didn't open, he got hopeful- that meant somebody was in there.

Clint pulled back a panel, typing a code into it, giving a quick blood sample and a voice activation to open it up. The seconds were torture as they waited before the door clicked open.

Clint froze.

There, lying on the floor, in a pool of his own blood with a gunshot to his head, was his eldest, Cooper. "Coop," Clint muttered, stumbling back.

Steve stepped into the safe room for a few moments. "There's nobody else there. It's just the little girl, right?"

"And Nathaniel... he's two now," Clint muttered. He didn't even look at Steve as he knew what he'd see: sympathy. Natasha was going to pay if she had had anything to do with this. He didn't care if she used to be his friend and partner; she was now his enemy. He almost fell onto the bed as his legs gave way beneath him. His son was dead. He knew he had to get up. He needed to find his daughter and other son! Move!

Finally, he looked up to see that Steve had left the room, and with a shaky breath he forced himself to stand up. He wasn't strong enough for this- he wasn't strong enough to lose his son. He was pulled out of his thoughts as his phone buzzed in his pocket. Sliding it out, he almost ended the call without even looking at who it was. But when he noticed the number, he froze. He knew that number; it was the landline for a barn three miles from his location-he always thought it was ridiculous to have a landline in a barn. He answered the phone, "Hello?" He said cautiously.

"Dad, you have to come quick! Mom and Cooper were shot and Aunty Nat is really badly injured. You have to come home!" His daughter told him hurriedly.

"Lila, are you okay? Where are you?" Clint asked, realising it was a stupid question. He knew exactly where she was and began running from the room. "Stay there, I'm coming."

"Clint-" Steve called as he ran past.

Clint didn't stop, keeping the phone to his ear and listening to his daughter answer his questions, telling him where she was and that she was safe, unhurt and with 'Aunty Nat'. He didn't bother considering that it could be a trap- which, if Natasha was a traitor, it would be- he just needed to make sure that his little girl was really okay. He vaguely noticed Steve running next to him-had he known where he was going, he could have easily beat him- and War Machine up over them.

As he slowed, Steve and War Machine did too, but he didn't have time to think clearly about a plan of approaching. "Lila- Lila?" The phone cut out, enough to convince him it was trap and he raised his bow and arrow, ready as the barn door swung open slightly. But he dropped it instantly as Lila came running out and jumped into his arms. He held her, and he didn't think he could have held her any tighter. "Are you okay?" He asked, pulling back to look at her. There was blood on her clothes and hands. "You're bleeding."

"It's not mine, it's Aunty Nat's!" Lila exclaimed, grabbing his hand and began pulling him towards the barn.

Steve must have heard what Lila said as he ran into the barn before him.

Clint picked Lila up and headed in after him, hearing War Machine land behind him and follow. He saw Steve by Natasha's side, who was unconscious, her arm around Nathaniel. He ran over, picking Nathaniel up and checking him over to find him unharmed.

Steve picked up Natasha's gun-which she must have dropped-and slipped it into his belt before picking her up; they way he was treating her showed that he didn't care that she had betrayed them; he was still going to help her. "She's lost a lot of blood, Stark, we need evac."

"On my way," Tony replied through the comms. Clint had forgotten about them and just held his children closer.

"Is she going to be okay?" Lila asked him.

Clint kissed the top of her head, "She's a fighter."

* * *

Clint was sitting on the couch at Stark Tower, staring at the wall. Both of his children had fallen asleep beside him; but he couldn't. Not with the knowledge that his son was dead, his wife was currently being worked on and his partner was looking worse than his wife. Everything was a mess. He wanted to go and check on the progress, see if the machine that was used on him was working on one of the two, but he didn't want to leave his children alone and right now; he didn't know who he could trust.

He looked up when Steve walked in, looking mostly composed, but had yet to change out of his Captain America suit, which was covered in Natasha's blood.

"How is she?" Clint asked, not specifying which 'she' he was asking about.

"Your wife is fine- they say she'll make a full recovery," Steve answered curtly.

Clint nodded, relieved, but didn't hesitate before asking, "And Natasha?"

Steve looked down, his face breaking slightly as he licked his lips, but his composure returned quickly; it was obvious he was struggling to not break down. "She's not doing as well."

"Steve," Clint prompted as his teammate fell silent.

"They are working on her, but… it's not looking good. They told me what was wrong, but…" Steve shook his head. It was unclear if he didn't understand what he was told, didn't listen or couldn't repeat what he had heard.

"She'll pull through- it's _Natasha_ we're talking about." Clint told him. It was surreal; 24 hours ago they were planning a strategy for going after Natasha, to capture her or take her down, and now they were terrified for her life. He hadn't asked Lila what had happened; was Natasha there to help them? Did she get them out? Or did Lila run with Nathaniel and find Natasha in the barn, already injured? Laura mentioned that Natasha had Nathaniel- how did she know that?

"We are going to get whoever was responsible for this," Steve promised.

Clint looked at him. "The KGB." He said clearly, "What if Natasha was involved?"

"She wasn't," Steve stated before walking out.

Clint stared at him; he thought that Steve had condemned Natasha like Tony and a few of the other Avengers had. But Steve seemed completely confident that Natasha wasn't involved. Thinking back, he realised that Steve never once spoke against her; how had he always believed in her?

He looked down at his daughter and stroked her hair, "I bet you believe that Natasha's innocent, too, don't you?" He asked rhetorically.

* * *

It was only three hours later when Clint left his children to check on his wife, giving Vision strict orders to not let anybody near them. As he was walking to the room his wife was in, he slowed outside of another door. Peering in, he noticed Natasha instantly, connected to a bunch of wires, a tube down her throat; she was alive. He noted that Steve was sitting with her, but the room was otherwise empty.

"Clint," Steve greeted, looking up.

"How is she?"

"Stable. They used that machine on her artificial wounds, but she lost a lot of blood and there was a blow to her head, and… they say she's probably not going to wake up for a while," Steve rambled slightly. He stood. "I can leave, if you wanted some time with her."

"No… no," Clint said, shaking his head as he backed out of the room and closed the door. He was sure that Steve sat back down and took one of Natasha's hands, but shook it out of his head; that wasn't possible. He entered the room down the hall.

"Clint," Laura said with relief filling her voice before he had even fully opened the door.

"Laura, how are you?" He asked, entering the room and rushing to her side, looking over her body.

"Fine," she dismissed. "How are the kids? Please tell me they're alright."

Clint felt a lump in his throat and his stomach churned. "They… Lila and Nate are here, they're fine; not even a scratch on them."

"What about Cooper?" Laura questioned, obviously noticing that he didn't mention him. Clint closed his eyes, looking away from her. "Clint, where's Cooper?"

"He's here too… but," he paused, unable to form the words without forcing them out. "He didn't make it." He finally said, glancing at her.

Her reaction was as he imagined it would be- it was how he felt- he could see the heartbreak and devastation that filled her at the news. "No… _no…_ how…" she muttered.

"I'm sorry, Laura," he told her softly. If she wasn't married to him she wouldn't have had to go through this.

"He's only 13! He's too young to… to _die_."

When she began crying, Clint stepped forward and pulled her into his arms, holding her tightly. His head dipped, hiding his face in her hair as he tried to keep himself together. He couldn't break down; he needed to stay strong- for Laura, for Lila, for Nathaniel. After a long time, she calmed- he didn't know how; he wouldn't have been able to.

"I want to see him," she decided.

"No."

"Clint…"

"No."

"Where are Lila and Nate?" Laura asked, resigning.

Clint took a breath. Laura was healed, probably just a bit tender, but it was obvious she wasn't going to attempt to leave the bed anytime soon. "I'll go get them."

Laura nodded, sinking back into the bed once he'd let go of her. She began wiping the tears from her face.

Clint walked out, and upon passing Natasha's room, he couldn't help but glance in again. Steve was gone. Poking his head in, he looked around; she was alone. He slipped in, closing the door behind him and approached her. Placing a gentle hand on her hand, he looked at her face. "What's going on, Nat?" He asked softly, knowing he wouldn't get a response. After a few minutes he left the room.

* * *

 **Thanks for reading and sorry for the angst.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note:**

 **Hello, an amazing response from all of you, that really amazed me! I was actually pretty shocked with how much Romanogers talk I was getting, that was no completely planned, if I'm honest with you! However, that doesn't mean anything.**

 **For my Clintasha fans, don't worry, I'm working on something for you, might be a while though. But for now, if you continue reading this story, you'll have to deal with an intense friendship... or non-friendship between them.**

 **Thank you for those who reviewed already: rbavenger; zzzz; grossly-sweet; Guest; RomanogersLucifer; discordchick; Guest; TheJollyRoger.**

 **Thank you to those who are already following the story: 300; isikiddo; DailyDreams; Chinagirl18.**

 **And thank you to those who have faved the story: readermind; DailyDreams; Chinagirl18.**

 **You are all amazing!**

 **Without any more chit-chat from me, here we go.**

* * *

Natasha Romanoff glared at the man across from her on the table, her eyes boring into his soul. The other members in the room had become accustomed to her cold exterior. She was sitting in an exclusive meeting with the KGB; there were five higher up agents, all waiting for one of the 'main guys'. As he walked into the room, she transferred her glare over to him, her eyes quickly analysing him for weapons; he was holding three to five of them.

"Welcome. I have gathered you all around to remind you what happens when somebody is against us," he began cryptically. However, when his eyes landed on Natasha for longer than the recommended time, she knew something was wrong. "One of our own has been lied to and manipulated."

A few agents exchanged glances.

"Romanoff, you are probably wondering why you were invited to this meeting, we believe that you have proven your loyalty, the intel you have given us has been very valuable, which is why we are bring you in on this," he paused. "As we all know, we are going to take down the Avengers, starting with your former partner; are you prepared to take him down." He spoke, looking directly at her. The others turned to face her, too.

She looked up at him coolly. "What did you have in mind?"

"We strike at the heart."

Natasha visibly smirked, her eyes dark. "Can I be the one to pull the trigger?"

A look of approval was given to her. "A few lower-level agents have just left to collect a few assets; they'll be brought back here, where you can kill them all-if they all make it back here, we only really need one."

"Who are we talking about?" One of the other agents asked.

"It appears 'Hawkeye' has a family, and soon they'll be at our disposal."

Natasha felt her whole body freeze at his words; they knew about Clint's family. "How soon?" She asked.

"Our agents are already en route. A few hours and he'll be on his knees, begging-" The leader didn't have chance to finish his sentence as a bullet flew through his head, killing him instantly.

Natasha was able to shoot three other agents before she was being fired upon. She felt herself jolted backwards as she was shot in the shoulder before she managed to overpower one of them and kill the remaining agent. With a quick check at her shoulder- just a flesh wound-she exited the building. Thankfully, nobody stopped her; they were currently unaware of her assassinating six KGB agents. She herself was unsure about whether she would be able to make it out alive if they knew. But she had bigger things to think about right now than her own life.

Natasha wasn't completely sure how she managed to take hold of a helicopter. She pulled out her phone once she got it in the air, two rings and he answered. "My cover's been blown."

"What happened?"

"Clint's family is in danger, you have to warn him. I'm flying there now."

"Turn around, I'll let Clint know,"

"Too late, I've already blown it, Fury."

Fury sighed over the phone, "One day you'll follow my orders."

She rolled her eyes as she hung up, the longer she was on the phone to him, the longer it took before Clint was notified. She then quickly patched up her flesh wound. It took her far too long to get there because by the time she made it, the lower-level agents had already entered his home. Unaware of how far behind them she was, she went in full force; get to the kids first. She slid through a window into the kitchen and heard the quiet voices of the KGB. It was barely five in the morning, and they'd all be asleep. She hit the alarm button in the house to notify Clint to the fact that something wasn't right. She silently made her way upstairs, going the alternative route from the stairs. Passing Laura and Clint's bedroom, she discovered it empty and continued down the hall into Cooper's room. She quickly tried to coax Cooper out of his bed.

"Aunt Nat?" He asked groggily.

"Shush, you need to get to the saferoom now," Natasha whispered, pulling him out of the bed. "You get in there and stay there until your father gets home."

"What about Lila, Mom and Nate?" Cooper questioned.

Natasha looked at him, "I've got them; you have to trust me. You _do not_ open the door for anybody, understand?"

Cooper nodded.

"Promise me- I can't protect you all at the same time," Natasha spoke, pulling him up with her and crossing the room.

"I promise," Cooper whispered.

Natasha ran with him across the hallway into Clint's room, opening the safe-room and pushing him into it. Her eyes widened as she heard somebody coming up the stairs, and she knew she had to get to Lila's room quickly; but it was easier to get her out of the house, unnoticed. "Do not open this door," she ordered, pushing it closed and waiting until it had locked before rushing out of the room and darting across the building into Lila's room after two men.

By the time she had got there, one of them had already grabbed Lila; Natasha's only advantage was that Lila wasn't a threat and it was likely that they would capture her instead of taking her out; that was one of the main reasons she had elected to get Cooper to safety first- he had taken fighting lessons and would most likely defend himself. KGB wouldn't think twice about killing him if they thought he was a threat. Theoretically they could just take Nathaniel back alive for the plan to work; he was two and would produce next to no resistance.

She jumped up, twisting and snapping the neck of one guy before kicking the other over, catching Lila's arm and stamping on the second man's head with force, knocking him out, too.

"Lila, are you okay?" Natasha asked softly and urgently; she had to find Laura and Nathaniel- they weren't up here like she had expected.

Lila jumped, crying, into her arms, "What's going on?"

"Shush, it's okay, I've got you," Natasha whispered as she picked up the nine-year-old. She heard more footsteps and quickly ducked into her room. With a glance out the window, she confirmed that it was clear. "Lila, sweetie. I need you to climb down. You've done it before…"

"Dad told me not to do it again," Lila protested.

Natasha glanced over her shoulder, hearing Nathaniel whining. "I know, but there are some very bad people in the house. Please, climb down and hide in the bush until your dad, mom or I come to get you."

"I don't want to," Lila sniffled, her lower lip quivering.

"Lila, please, you have to go now. I'll be there soon, I promise, just hide in the bush," Natasha almost begged. If Lila didn't leave now and they saw her, she was in a lot more danger. "Trust me."

Lila nodded reluctantly before letting go of Natasha and slipping out the window. Natasha checked the area again, thankful that it was clear. She was also thankful that Lila had the end room, meaning it would be the last room they would check. When Lila got to the bottom and ducked into the tree, that's when she moved; it was only afterwards that she had wished she had moved sooner. As she entered Clint's room again, following the voices, Cooper opened the safe room door. It didn't take her long to realise why; the men were threatening to kill Nathaniel- who they had- if he didn't open it.

Before she had the chance to even react, a shot fired, Cooper's head shooting backwards. He fell to the ground with a thud. She began moving before she could even comprehend what was happening; if anybody asked her to explain how she took down six men and got Nathaniel back with him unharmed, she wouldn't have been able to answer. If they had asked her how she didn't feel the two bullets penetrating her skin, she couldn't have answered that, either. She pushed the safe room door closed; she didn't want them taking Cooper's body.

Where was Laura? Did she risk looking for Laura and putting Nathaniel in danger? She comforted the young boy, who thankfully calmed down when she had gotten him; he recognised and trusted her. With cautious steps, she made her way down the stairs. Peering around, she noticed Laura, being threatened by three men. They made eye contact, and with a subtle tilt of Laura's head, Natasha continued her route out of the house; children first. Hopefully Clint would get here in time to save Laura, but after witnessing Cooper being killed, she couldn't let any of his other children suffer.

It took almost three minutes for Natasha to get to Lila, undetected. Then, it was all about grabbing her and running as fast as she could. She had barely made it into the barn when she thought she heard the Iron Man suit; are they here? Checking over the two children again, she was thankful that they weren't physically hurt and sat down.

Both of the children were holding onto her tightly, and she was not going to release them until she knew they were safe. She couldn't work out how things were getting dark so quickly; when her eyes began closing, she tried to fight it, but was unable.

Blackness and numbness filled her.

* * *

Natasha's eyes fluttered open and she quickly identified the awful headache and exactly where she had been shot. The annoying sound of beeping told her she was in some sort of hospital and she felt annoyance fill her. Suddenly everything came back to her and she sat forward, ignoring the intense pain, and looked around. Her eyes landed on Steve, who was suddenly standing beside her.

"It's okay, Natasha, you're safe," he said reassuringly.

"Lila, Nathaniel- are they okay?" She asked quickly, her voice raspy. Her eyes darting around the room.

"They're fine, perfectly fine," Steve assured her, gently placing a hand on her shoulder to push her back. "You should rest."

"Laura?"

"She's fine too, lay back down."

Natasha shook her head, "I can't, I need to-"

"You need to rest," Steve repeated.

Natasha looked at him and reluctantly laid back down, her eyes glanced over him, he looked ever so slightly tired-which was very unusual for him, the super-serum usually made him look great all the time. How long had he been awake to actually look tired? He was clean, probably freshly showered, so he hadn't recently been in a fight; which could have added to his fatigue. "What's going on?"

Steve handed her some water, which she took a few sips from-she didn't want to admit how nice it felt to feel the water going down her dry throat. "Nothing, I should call in-"

"Steve," Natasha said firmly, thankfully her voice was now stronger. As he looked at her, she realised that the last time they spoke, she openly told him she'd kill him if he tried to stop her. She maintained her cover completely and left. "How much trouble am I in?"

"The team has conflicted feelings about you…" he began.

"I don't know how they knew about Clint's family, I swear; I didn't tell them," Natasha told him honestly, her heart breaking as she remembered that she had failed Clint and his family; she had failed Cooper.

"Nobody thinks you had anything to do with that," Steve told her. But one look at him and she knew he was lying.

"I need to make a call."

"I can't let you, I'm sorry."

"Steve, give me your phone," Natasha ordered, part of her wondered if he actually had his phone on him. But then he submitted and handed his phone over. A thought passed through her, why was he trusting her, she could call the KGB right now and give up their location. She glanced around, she was definitely at Starks. "Thank you." She unlocked and dialed the number she wanted.

"How did you know my password?"

"Bucky's birthday isn't original," Natasha muttered as she waited for the caller to answer. "It's Romanoff."

" _What happened exactly?"_

"My cover was blown."

" _You mean, you blew your cover. I am coming to you now, it's already been days, I need the intel now."_

"Understood," she handed Steve his phone back. "Days?"

The door opened and she noticed Steve shoving his phone in his pocket, she noticed that it was Clint walking in; he looked like he had actually gotten some sleep. "You're awake." He commented, freezing in the doorway.

Natasha sat up, her hands in her lap; the least threatening she could be. "I'm not in handcuffs," she observed.

"We both know that wouldn't stop you escaping," Clint replied, not entering the room.

Steve rested a light hand on her shoulder, "You should rest."

"I'll come back later…"

"I didn't tell them _anything_ about your family, Clint," Natasha called as he stepped out of the room. He turned back and looked at her, they held eye contact for a long moment before she ducked her head; she wasn't usually one to back down. As he exited the room without another word, she laid back down with a sigh.

"He'll come around."

Natasha looked at Steve, why was he on her side, "Thank you, but… You don't know what I did to him." Her head swayed away from him, looking blankly at the wall. She felt the pull of sleep and welcomed it.

* * *

 **Thank you!**

 **And to the guest reviewers, I really wish I could reply to you! Especially when you have questions.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Author Note:**

 **Hello there, my lovelies! Here is chapter three (of eight, I believe).**

 **Thank you very much to the reviewers of my last chapter! (You know you're my favourite readers, shhh!) I can't remember if I replied to the reviews, because of work and... real life (Sigh), so sorry about that!**

 **TheJollyRoger- Have I mentioned how much I love your name? And wish that I could reply to your message! It's lovely to see you pop up all the time! :D**

 **Ninja0404 is a fanfiction geek- YOU'RE BACK! Hello! You asked me to update soon; is this soon enough? :D**

 **discordchick- I hoped we all knew in our gut that she wasn't bad... right guys?**

 **grossly-sweet- I showed you some of this story? Shhhh! No spoilers! Haha! Thanks :D**

* * *

It was only as Natasha woke up again, did things start to make more sense. Her head was pounding, and her limbs were aching. The worst part was when she moved, her head felt like it had a thousand jolts of electricity coursing through it; she couldn't work out if she was imagining it. She looked over at Steve who was reading a file. "Hello."

Steve's head shot up to look her at, closing the file and putting it onto the side, "Hey, how are you feeling?"

"Fine," she spoke as he handed her some water. She sat up and accepted it, taking a few sips.

"You should rest."

"I'm fine," Natasha repeated, her mind was a lot clearer now and she came to the conclusion that Steve wasn't there primarily because he was concerned, but because he probably had volunteered to be her guard. He cared enough to protect her from what was going on and be the one to keep an eye on her. "Has Fury arrived?"

Steve nodded shortly, "You were sleeping."

"You should have woken me," Natasha told him before putting the water on the side. She felt herself feel slightly sleepy and pulled out the drip.

"What are you-"

"It's making me feel hazy," she answered before he finished the question as she pulled off any other wires connected to her. "Where's Fury?"

Steve pulled out his phone, "I'll get him to come here."

Natasha sighed-well, it was more of a huff- "So, I'm in no danger as long as I stay in this room with you as my 'bodyguard'."

Steve glanced at her as he placed his phone against his ear, not agreeing or disagreeing with her, "She's awake." He ended the call after a few moments and looked at her, "He's on his way."

Natasha didn't ask who 'he' was but she was sure it would be Fury, he would want a debriefing and she had a lot to tell him. But she couldn't rule out any member of the team. However, nothing prepared her for when the door opened and Lila poked her head into the room.

"Not now," Steve said softly, but the young girl ignored him as her eyes landed on Natasha.

"You're awake!" she announced, running into the room and -unfortunately for Natasha- jumped onto the bed to hug her.

Natasha held back a groan of pain, but hugged the young girl back, "You shouldn't be here, I'm sure your Dad told you that." She lightly reprimanded, but there was no weight behind her voice.

"I don't care," Lila replied, not letting go.

"Are you okay?" Natasha asked, releasing her.

Lila pulled back and nodded, "I'm okay. How are you? You've been asleep for like… _ever_. I thought you weren't going to wake up."

Natasha tried to smile a little, "You can't get rid of me that easily."

Lila looked at her seriously, although the sadness was evident in her eyes. "Dad told me I wouldn't see you ever again, a few weeks ago. But see, he was wrong… and he told me that I wouldn't see Cooper again, because he… but he's wrong about that too, right?"

Natasha opened her mouth but nothing came out, she felt the wind leave her; she knew Lila was in denial, she understood about death. At least, she thought she did. "Lila…"

"Aunty Nat needs to rest…" Steve started.

"No she doesn't; she's a superhero," Lila interrupted him. That was very unlike her.

Natasha sighed, "he's right. I do need to rest." She paused, "But I am very, very glad you're okay." She hugged the young girl, ignoring the pain. "Now, you should go before your Dad catches you."

Lila pulled away slowly, "I'll come back soon, I promise." With that, she jumped off the bed and ran to the door. She bumped into Fury, but was visibly relieved it wasn't her Dad before continuing to run off.

"Rogers, I would like a moment alone with Agent Romanoff."

"Yes Sir," Steve nodded before exiting the room.

"Romanoff," Fury said, staring her down out of his one good eye.

"Fury," she said simply, matching his tone and gaze.

"Do you know why I give you these missions, put the fate of the world in your hands?" he asked, his voice making it clear he didn't really want an answer. "Because you're professional. Supposedly the best. Because you're claim you can distance yourself and _keep your head in the game_ like we need you to." He glared at her. "That was sloppy work, Romanoff."

"I had no choice," Natasha replied shortly, why the hell was he making her defend her decision?

"There is always a choice," Fury said flatly. "I trusted you to remember what was at stake."

"I made the right call," Natasha responded with a glare deepening her features. "If I hadn't got there when I did, Cooper wouldn't have been the only _child_ who died."

"And the children who will die because of your recklessness?" he demanded. "After all this time working with Coulson and Barton and you're still that angry young woman we recruited all those years ago with a massive chip on her shoulder-you still haven't learned to trust the system."

"Fuck the system!" Natasha growled. "Cooper _died_ because of your stupid system, you failed to protect them. He was a thirteen year old kid who was shot in the head. Next time, I won't even bother calling you, I'll go straight to Clint or one of the Avengers; I can actually trust they care about my _life_ , about the life of our friends. All you care about are results, statistics… you don't care if I die out there and you don't care that a little boy died either." She accused, her blood boiling. She may have blamed Fury in her speech, but she knew it was her fault, if she had moved faster, stopped the agents from getting up the stairs, or had found Laura and Nathaniel first-maybe things would have been different. Maybe Fury would have been calling her stupid, and she would have agreed. But she couldn't agree now, her best wasn't good enough. "Clint's son is dead, Nick… Coop's gone."

Fury sighed. "I know." He was silent for a moment. "My agents often credit me with being able to see ten steps ahead when I assign them ops, and maybe sometimes it's true, but I especially wish it was true today. I would stay and grieve with the rest of you, but I have more lives on the line. I need to know what intel you did manage to get before blowing…" Fury stopped. "Before you realized Barton's family was in danger."

"Imbedded in my skin, I need a knife to cut it out for you… I presume you got the USB's in my jacket pocket? I grabbed them on my way out, they could have anything on them."

Fury reached into his coat pocket and handed her a thin knife, the blade almost scalpel-like. "Here."

Natasha took the knife, she then unashamedly pulled up her gown, the bedding pooled around her waist and cut into the pre-existing scar from when the Winter Soldier shot her. It was a small incision at the base of it, she expertly pried out a small memory chip and placed it on the table with the knife. She then dropped her gown down, not even bothering to put a plaster on her small cut, which was only bleeding a little bit. "It seems KGB has two camps, both similar to the red room-they train young children, ones for boys, the other is for girls. They are being trained for HYDRA. There's a location for one…" she drifted off. "There's a lot of information on it." She told him, not finishing her explanation, she just didn't feel like it right now. "Is that everything you needed from me?" she asked with a clipped tone.

Fury appraised her with his one eye. "Spoken to Barton yet?"

"No," Natasha answered, it was mostly the truth. "Not really. I won't lie to them, not anymore… not ever again."

"Then I need my best agents speaking to each other," Fury said, turning away. "Work on that before I get back." He paused in the doorway. "And when you do, tell him I said I'm sorry."

"Tell him yourself, he wouldn't listen to me right now," Natasha replied. Not caring if he was still listening to her or not. Clint had every right to never want to talk to her again, she really did burn that bridge and wasn't sure if she could go back.

"Make him listen," Fury said from even further away now.

* * *

Clint was sitting on the couch, staring at his sleeping two year old, who had fallen asleep on the couch beside him. He still looked sleep-deprived and his hand was protectively making sure he wouldn't roll off.

"Hey, Legolas," Tony said, walking into the room.

Clint barely glanced up at him, "Hey Tony."

"How're you doing?" he asked. "With...you know."

Clint looked up fully, there were so many 'you know' Tony could be referring to. "Good…" he replied before sighing. "Crap." He amended.

"Sorry," Tony nodded. He stepped further into the room, looking around almost uncomfortably.

"This is _your_ house, don't look so out-of-place."

Tony smiled sheepishly, then indicated Nathaniel's small form on the couch. "He looks so peaceful."

Clint looked down at his son and smiled softly, "Yeah, he does, doesn't he."

"So I heard that you and the female James Bond were on the outs," Tony said.

A frown made its way onto his lips, "What about it? She betrayed us all, you're not just going to let her back into our life, right?"

Tony shifted. "She's an Avenger. And she was on a mission… just one we didn't know about."

Clint looked at Tony, "And so you're just going to forgive everything she did?"

"Yes," Stark said. "For the greater good. What she did wasn't right, but I'm not one to fault her for keeping secrets. Can you?"

His gaze didn't waver as he looked at him, "No. I don't care that she lied, it is what she did. That part is unforgivable."

Tony sighed. "I just think you should hear her out. What she was doing… it involved the KGB."

"Her going back to the KGB doesn't concern you? Who knows if she's…" Clint stopped suddenly. Even though he was pissed at Natasha, he could spill her secrets, especially about her previous treatments that were forced upon her during her time in Russia. "What if she turned."

"What if she didn't?" Tony asked.

"What if she was the reason Cooper _died?"_ Clint accused, that idea ringing through his mind for _days_ , ever since he saw his oldest son laying on the ground.

"What if?" Tony said. "Romanoff is the reason Lila and Nathaniel _didn't_."

"Whose side are you on?" Clint grumbled. It didn't matter what he said, Natasha had gone way too far, but he wasn't about to reveal that to Tony either; so he had to try and convince him with the other facts, so Tony understood why he was pissed.

Stark shrugged. "I'm on the team's side. We need you. Both of you."

"How do you expect me to work with somebody who I don't trust?" Clint asked him seriously.

He raised an eyebrow. "You trust me?"

"Yeah," Clint answered, he tilted his head to the side, "You've never given me a reason not to trust you and loads of reasons to." He paused, "I don't think I've actually thanked you for letting my family stay here… I'm not entirely sure what we're going to do."

"You're welcome here as long as you like," Tony said. "You all are." He looked down at Nathaniel again. "You're not planning on going back to the farm?"

Clint shook his head, "It's been compromised, it's not safe anymore. And I wouldn't be able to get Cooper's dead image out of his head everytime he walked into his bedroom. The whole place has been tainted."

Tony nodded. "That is understandable." He said sympathetically, "if you needed any help with moving arrangements…"

"Thanks." Clint said, interrupting him. "Is there any chance you could keep an eye on Nate for a while?"

Tony looked at him with wide eyes, looking at the two year old. "Alone?"

"Yeah, I trust you… just, don't corrupt him," Clint said standing up. "He will roll off the couch, so keep your arm there."

Tony quickly went over to the child, looking at him with wide eyes as he pulled out his phone, "Pepper, I need your help, immediately. Yes, it's an emergency."

Clint had to admit, he felt a little better putting Tony in that situation, but it didn't help reduce the undying emptiness he felt. He walked out of the room, needing to check that Laura and Lila were both still okay; he hadn't seen either of them in about four hours.

* * *

 **Thank you for reading! :D**


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's Note:**

 **Howdy, Cowboys! *Tips cowboy hate forward*  
**

 **How're y'all today?**

 **Huge thank you to my amazing reviewers for my last chapter:** **discordchick, Ninja0404 is a fanfiction geek, grossly-sweet, ELOSHAZZY, TheNaggingCube, TheJollyRoger.**

 **Thank you also to those who have fav'ed and followed the story! (or me)!**

 **Shout-out to two individuals, who have both assisted on this chapter, one at the beginning of writing (and the previous chapters) and one who helped out afterwards (and the following chapters). Sanctuaria and ThisVioletofMine (Respectively.)**

 **Hope you like this chapter!**

* * *

Natasha was sitting on the hospital bed. Even though it was actually painful, she had refused any more treatment or pain relief. Her gaze was unfocused as she stared at the blank wall; after much deliberation, she decided that staying put was the best idea. Also, she didn't actually have anywhere to go. Steve had thankfully decided that he didn't need to stay by her side 24/7.

Clint walked in, stopping just beyond the threshold. "Oh. You're still here." Everything about his posture screamed coldness and even hostility.

She looked at him immediately, her eyes focused slightly, with no intention of looking away. "I am." She replied simply.

He turned away, continuing further into the room and pulling open one of the drawers. He rifled through it for a second, then, apparently finding what he needed, shut it again. He began to head out the door.

"Clint…" Natasha started, the words on the tip of her tongue, but didn't- couldn't- continue.

Thankfully, it was enough to stop him before he disappeared again. "What, Natasha?" His voice was low and hard.

Her mouth opened for a split second before the words came out. "I'm sorry." She told him, her voice far more vulnerable than she would have liked- she hadn't spoken in a while. She took a sip of water.

"That's all?" Clint asked, refusing to look at her. He took another step towards the door.

Natasha sighed. "I tried to save him, Clint. I failed, and I know you can never forgive me for that… but I was not the reason they were there. I didn't spill a word about your family, so for a second stop being pissed at me and work out how they knew."

"You're wrong." He stopped for long enough that Natasha wondered if she'd be forced to ask him what he meant. "You're wrong. I can forgive you for that. Already have." His tone was clipped and emotionless.

Natasha wanted to continue this train of conversation, keep it focused on Cooper and his family; she wanted- needed -to know who had leaked the information. But it just didn't seem right. As she looked at her ex-partner's- ex-friend's- back, she wondered if she had gone too far, a thought that had been torturing her mind. Could she even comprehend the reason she originally had all those months ago when Clint confronted her? Right now she wished she could take it back, take it all back; what she did, what she said. But she couldn't. "You shouldn't have." She paused. "You shouldn't forgive me for anything. What I did was wrong."

"Glad you've finally noticed," Clint said scathingly. His hand clenched around whatever he had taken from the drawer.

Her eyes flickered down to his hand; she couldn't make out what he had, and they soon flickered back up to the back of his head. "At the time, it was my only option. I thought it was my only option. I needed to get you off my back. I needed you to believe that," she reluctantly let out a sigh, "that I had betrayed you. Turned my back on you."

"You _did_ betray us," he said harshly, looking at her for the first time. "You betrayed us by not trusting us when we all trusted you. You betrayed _me_."

"Those were my _orders_ ; Fury didn't want the Avengers involved," Natasha replied. "And I didn't want you included in the mission." She revealed. Fury had originally wanted Clint to be involved, but it was her decision to not include him, and Fury had allowed her to make that call. She chose to betray Clint to keep him out of it, to distance him from what was happening.

"I never said I didn't understand why you did it, Romanoff. I just said that you betrayed me."

Natasha looked away from him; him using her last name actually hurt. "I did. I betrayed you." She agreed quietly.

"And Laura. Lila. Nathaniel." He paused. "Cooper."

"I didn't be-" Natasha started strongly, her voice stronger than it had been since he appeared. "I never hurt any of them," she amended.

"Then, after all these years, you don't know the meaning of _hurt_ , Natasha. It's not about physical pain. Anything you could dole out in that regard, I could handle. This is different." He looked her in the eyes, angry. "Do you understand? What you did, what you said-it was _sick_."

Natasha couldn't look at him in the eyes; her gaze fell, landing on the sheets in front of her. "I wouldn't have touched her, Clint." Maybe she should go back to calling him Barton or Hawkeye- Clint felt too personal; she didn't deserve to call him that now.

"You were right, then, Natasha," he said. "I don't know you anymore. Maybe I never did."

"You _do_ know me," Natasha inputted; however, the way she was avoiding eye contact right now was not showing him who he knew. "We both know you _do_ know me."

"And you don't know me," Clint continued, "if you ever thought you could cross that line and come back from it. So stay away from me, Natasha. Stay away from _us_."

Natasha nodded, her eyes flicking up to his. "If that's what you want, I will."

"No, what I want is to know I can trust you!" Clint retorted quickly, his words sharp.

Natasha sighed, disappointed in herself. She just couldn't say the words that she was almost sure would be able to mend their partnership; work was important to both of them and she could easily pull out that side of him. Although their friendship seemed impossible to salvage. "I know."

When she looked up at his silence, knowing he was still there, she saw mainly disappointment, regret and sadness on his face; the anger had seemed to disappear for some reason. His mouth opened, obviously about to say something, but he hesitated.

"Clint…" Natasha started when he couldn't seem to get his words out. "You don't have to worry about me complicating your life anymore. I'll leave."

"Goodbye, Natasha," he said before turning and walking off.

* * *

Natasha dressed in some of Pepper's clothes- she was planning on dry-cleaning and sending them back- and was quickly heading for the elevator; the sooner she got out of here, the better. Also, she wasn't sure if she was actually allowed to leave, so leaving without being seen would be preferable.

"Aunty Nat?" Lila peeked in the door. "What are you doing in Pepper's closet?"

"I think the question is what are _you_ doing up here? Are you allowed up on this floor?" Natasha asked, tapping her foot and looking down at the young girl.

She gave a ghost of a smile. "Yeah. Tony said I could go anywhere but his lab 'cause there's dangerous stuff in there. But he promised he would show me how he built his suit someday!"

"That's great- just get your father's permission," Natasha advised. "Do you have permission from your parents to be up here?" She asked knowingly.

Lila pushed the door open a bit more, shifting on her feet guiltily. "No… do I need it? Do you think they'll be mad? I don't want them to be mad."

"I think we both know they'd prefer if they knew where you were," Natasha pointed out. "But I don't think they'll be mad at you right now… if they are, just cry and-" She stopped suddenly; teaching Clint's daughter how to manipulate her parents probably wasn't the best idea. "Just tell them you're sorry."

"Okay," Lila agreed, hanging her head a little. Almost immediately she perked up again. "But what are you doing here?"

Natasha twisted her lips for a moment. "I have to go away for a while. Be good for your parents."

Lila frowned. "You're leaving?" She pushed the door open fully and ran to Natasha, wrapping her arms around her waist. "But why?"

Natasha patted her back. "You know me: I have a lot to do. I can't stay here forever."

"But I don't want you to go…" She pouted. "Please stay?"

"Lila…" She bent down to one knee, looking at her in the eye. "I'm sorry, but I have to go. I… I have to… I'll miss you."

"Will you visit?" Lila asked hopefully.

"In the future…" Natasha replied hesitantly. "I love you. Give me a hug." She said, not fully answering the question.

"I love you, too," Lila hugged her. "Are you going to say goodbye to Nate, too?"

"Is Nate near your dad?" Natasha asked, mentally cursing herself for even considering approaching another of his children, but then deciding that the risk would be worth it.

"Nate's with Mom, but I don't know where Dad is." Lila scrunched up her eyebrows. "Why? Are you hiding from him?"

"Yes; I need to be somewhere… and if he finds out I'm still here, I'll get in trouble," Natasha told her; it was mainly the truth. "Where's your mom?"

"Her room," Lila told her. She held out her hand. "I'll take you there!"

Natasha took a deep breath; if Clint caught her, he'd kill her. But she took the ten-year-old's hand anyway. "Okay, let's go."

Natasha allowed the young girl to lead her, her own eyes flickering to make sure every corner was empty. As she approached the room, she let go of Lila's hand and cautiously glanced in, making sure Clint wasn't there; she was ready to pounce away. Thankfully he wasn't there, and her staying at the doorway attracted Laura's attention.

"Natasha," she said, looking more surprised than anything else.

She stood there for a few seconds, silently. "Hey, Laura. Just wanted to say 'bye before I went." With a quick look behind her, she entered the room.

Clint's wife raised an eyebrow. "You're leaving?"

Natasha nodded, but didn't have chance to reply as Nathaniel squealed in delight at seeing her, running over. Nat bent down and picked him up, kissing the side of his head, "Hey, Handsome." She looked over at Laura. "Yeah, I'll be gone for a while."

"We'll miss you," Laura said, making eye contact. "I mean it."

"You three will," Natasha commented, making it clear to Laura that she was leaving Clint out. "Bye bye," she added to Nate, who was hugging her, and kissed his head again. She didn't want to let him go.

"He'll come around, Nat," Laura told her.

"Don't worry about it, Laura. I deserve this," Natasha replied putting Nate down on the ground.

"Bye bye, Aunty Nat. I love you," Nate mumbled.

"Love you too, little one," She stood up. "See you all in the future."

Laura stood up suddenly, grabbing Natasha's wrist as she turned to leave. "I'll talk to him," she promised.

"Don't bother- I'm not worth it," Natasha said, pulling her hand away before slipping out of the room. She didn't allow any more distractions and exited the building.

* * *

Clint was sitting, bent forward with his elbows on his thighs. He looked up when Laura walked into the room and over to him, her hands on his shoulders. "You spoke to Natasha." She commented, her voice light and calm.

His eyes met hers as he sat up properly, one hand lightly touching her arm. "You told me to."

"I think my exact words were to make amends," she reminded him as she sat on the arm of the chair, dropping one hand from his shoulder to hold his hand.

"She doesn't deserve that. She went too far. I can't just forgive her for what she did to me," Clint said. "To us."

Laura massaged his shoulder. "This is _Natasha_ we're talking about; we know she wouldn't have done that."

"You can't understand because you're not a spy, Laura," Clint sighed. "In our business, trust is the most precious thing there is, and she broke mine."

She sighed in response. "Trust can be earnt back. Don't you two have the whole 'what happens on the mission, stays on the mission' thing?" She asked, a hint of confusion touching her features.

"We also have a rule about not using each other's weaknesses against each other," Clint growled. "You remember what she said to me when she went rogue."

Laura nodded. "I remember, Clint."

"I won't let her hurt us like that again. We're better off without the Black Widow in our lives."

"I agree, we don't need the Black Widow; but we _do_ need Natasha. She's part of this family."

"They're one and the same, Laura," Clint told her.

Laura shook her head, disagreeing with him. "They are not. Natasha is a hero, willing to sacrifice herself for others. She's a good person."

"In the eyes of the world, maybe. As an Avenger. But not as a friend. Not as a partner."

"Clint, stop talking and just _listen_!" Laura said firmly, standing up and stepping away to face him. "Natasha is a friend and better than a partner. I know. Back at the house…" She stopped, taking a breath to calm herself down. "You weren't there! You were not _there_ when they _ripped_ Nathaniel from my arms- when I failed to protect him! You weren't there when I was pushed down and he was taken! The house was flooded with strangers! I had no control. You weren't there when they told me eight different ways they could kill me and asked me to pick. You weren't there when I heard the gunshots, when I feared that all of our children had been killed." She paused. "Do you want to know who _was_ there?"

"That's not the point."

" _Natasha_ was there. I can guarantee you that if she hadn't been there, we wouldn't be having this conversation. You wouldn't be able to see any of your children grow into adults. Lila and Nathaniel were _unharmed_."

"Unharmed? _Unharmed_?" He stopped, unable to continue, running his hands over his face. "No. Yes. Yes, she helped save you and Lila and Nathaniel, but that's something any of the Avengers would do in a heartbeat. Natasha was supposed to be more than that. The one I could count on when all else failed. Someone Lila could turn to for support, someone to help Cooper…" His voice hardened. "One good deed doesn't erase the line she crossed."

"And one step over the line doesn't erase all the good she did," Laura countered. "Did you really take her threat seriously?"

Clint looked up at her. "I've seen her do some unspeakable things. _Yes,_ I took it seriously."

"And I've seen her search the whole house for a single marble because she didn't want Lila to cry," Laura reminded him, continuing, "And allowing Cooper to paint her green before chasing him around the front yard." She paused. "Do you remember when you introduced Nat to our family? She refused to touch the children, scared she'd hurt them- she could tell me a hundred ways that she could hurt them, and I'd never believe her."

Clint looked down, the memories flashing through his head- the utter softness of Natasha's touch and the harshness of her blow. The protection when working with her and the pain when she took that away from him. She had crossed the line; she knew it was unforgivable and yet she used it anyway. He looked up, his face hardening. "Why had she said it?"

Laura shook her head. "I don't…"

"No. She knew what my reaction would be- she wanted me to hate her, to not come to her rescue. Why? What has Fury got her doing?" Clint asked rhetorically as he stood up. "I'm going to find out." He walked towards the door, but halted and turned around, his hand rubbing her arm. "I love you."

Laura barely smiled, but it was still there. "I love you, too." They shared a kiss before Clint walked off.

* * *

 **Thank you for reading! We are literally at the half-way point of the story!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Author's Note:**

 **Hello, massive thank you to the reviewers on the previous chapter! You are all amazing!**

 **I hope you enjoy this chapter! I've nearly finished writing the whole story! :D**

* * *

Clint walked-more like barged-into Tony's office, "Tony, what did we find on Natasha back at the barn?"

"Her phone and a few USBs," Tony asked, spinning around on his stall to look at him.

"Show me," Clint demanded.

Tony threw him an annoyed glance, "Phones with her clothes, Fury took the USBs. Why?"

"She made it appear that she betrayed all of us, and she went pretty far with the ruse," Clint began, searching through her clothes and collecting her phone-he briefly wondered why she didn't collect it on her way out. "What mission would be that important? She knew what to say to me, to make me completely back off without even considering why she said it."

Tony nodded, typing away at his table, the screens filled up with files, "It's a good thing I copied all of the USBs before Fury took them."

Clint walked over and took a look at the screens, glancing over the information, "Do you think your system could help out?"

"FRIDAY, search through the files and give me the bullet points," Tony ordered.

"Yes, sir."

Clint attempted to unlock Natasha's phone, before holding it out to Tony, he took it and connected it to the computer.

"Let's see what we have here," Tony muttered. "Last call was to Fury. The one before that was to…" he paused, looking at Clint, "Steve."

"Steve Rogers?" Clint asked for clarification; Tony nodded. Had he remained in contact with her after she joined the KGB and why didn't he tell anybody. Maybe that was why he was so easy to forgive her. "Where is Steve right now?"

"FRIDAY?" Tony spoke when there wasn't an immediate answer.

"Mr. Rogers is in the kitchen, Sir," FRIDAY replied.

Clint raised an eyebrow at the seductive tone of Tony's new A.I., he wasn't surprised he hadn't noticed before, this was the first time he listened to the voice. "It sounds like your A.I. wants to sleep with you."

Tony smirked, "It's a women, of course it wants to sleep with me."

"That's disturbing; stay away from my wife," Clint shuddered as he walked out of the room, with Tony on his tail-who was chuckling. He took a deep breath, not wanting to over-react.

As they walked into the kitchen, Tony poured himself a stiff drink, "Did you want to tell us why Natasha called you?"

Steve pulled out his phone, looking at it quizzically, "When?"

"While she was with the KGB," Clint clarified, his tone clipped.

"Oh…" Steve mummered awkwardly, turning away from them. He picked up his drink, "She was just saying hi." He answered finally.

"Bullshit, I've known Natasha for a decade and she doesn't call to say 'hi'," Clint replied sharply.

"No… I distinctly remember her saying 'hi'," Steve replied, in a way which looked like he was being caught with his hand in the cookie jar.

"Wonder pants; what is going on with Natasha?" Clint asked, demanding an answer. "Did you know she was undercover?"

Steve sighed turning to face them, "I can't tell Clint; that was her only condition."

Clint opened his mouth in protest, but Tony beat him to it. "Was that before she was shot? Don't think it counts. Now, spill."

"I didn't know she was undercover, but she called me and asked," Steve paused. "Asked if she could count on me for back up if it was needed. She wanted to free some children who were being trained for something."

"The Red Room?" Clint questioned.

Steve nodded, "Yeah, said there was two, she wanted them both to be hit at the same time- but only have one location." He answered, obviously not knowing the relevance of this knowledge.

"That still doesn't fully explain why she didn't tell us what was…" Clint started before being interrupted by the seductive A.I.

"Sir, there is something you should see. It's about Pepper."

Tony instantly pulled out his tablet, pulling up whatever it was. Clint managed to glance at it, noting that the plans on there were to do with the abduction of Pepper Potts. He managed to see the date- last week- before the tablet was nearly thrown onto the side as Tony was calling her.

"When did you last hear from her?" Clint asked.

"The day before that, she's at this function, said she didn't want any distractions-this is why I don't let her have holiday's." Tony muttered, concern filling his voice as he held the phone to his ear. Relief filled his face as Peppers voice filled the room.

"Hello. Tony, this better be an emergency," Pepper stated annoyed over the phone, "Can you not last longer than a week without-"

"Where are you?" Tony interrupted.

"At my hotel, why?" Pepper asked.

Clint caught the phone as Tony literally ran out of the room, Clint picked up the tablet as he held the phone, "Pepper, did you go to the… Gala last Thursday?"

There was a pause, an obvious confusion at the change of person talking. "No… Something happened at- what's going on?"

"It appears there was an attempted kidnapping on you-why didn't you go to the gala?" Clint asked her.

"Somebody hacked the system, I couldn't leave the office, I had to sort it out," Pepper answered. "I thought it was strange, nothing was taken and none of the folders were even looked at- we just presumed it was a teen messing about. Tony?"

"No, it's Clint."

"Let's go Pep," Tony's voice came from the other end of the phone. Clint rolled his eyes as somebody hung up the phone.

"Can you believe that guy?" Clint questioned, before narrowing his eyes at Steve slightly. "Why didn't you tell us that Natasha called?"

"She asked me not to, and it didn't seem relevant at the time. I would have told you when I needed to," Steve answered.

Clint sighed, but accepted his answer as he continued to go through the folders himself, "Shit." He muttered.

"Language," Steve muttered, the regret instantly on his face. "What is it?"

"Peggy Carter, all of her information, Rhodey, Pepper, us… They've been planning on taking us all down…"

"What about Peggy?" Steve asked, nearly demanding.

Clint held the tablet to show him, "They have locations on everybody dear to us, dates of where everybody will be. Some of these have passed, my family doesn't appear to be on here though- Look, they're targeting Rhodey tonight. It appears they're using a bomb."

Steve looked pissed, "Was Natasha in on this?" He asked. It was obvious he didn't want to believe it.

Clint looked at him, it seemed like the way to really rile up Steve was to threaten somebody he cared about-and that obviously included Peggy. "No. She wouldn't need to join the KGB to do this. She could waltz into my home at any point, easily, and kill my whole family. She didn't. She could get to any one of us or our friends without resistance- she wouldn't need to plan it."

Steve nodded, "We have to protect them… what does it say-"

Tony came flying in- in his Iron Man suit- with Pepper in his arms. He set her down. "Okay, what is this about an attempted abduction?" She demanded.

* * *

"Still can't get a hold of Rhodey," Tony informed them frustrated as he tweaked his Ironman suit. "We need to get to him before he gets on that stage."

Steve nodded, his shield on his back, "If we're too late, we have to clear out the place- we don't want any innocents killed by the blast."

"I can disable the bomb if we can locate it," Clint informed them, a grim expression on his face. It was clear he was conflicted about leaving his family here.

"You don't have to come, Clint. Falcon and Wanda are meeting us there," Steve told him, concern ridden on his face.

"Does anybody else know how to disable a bomb?" Clint looked at them and then shook his head. "Vision is here and Tony's defenses will protect them. I'm part of the team." He stated, but looked uncertain.

"Let's head out," Tony said, turning from them. Steve and Clint followed him, when Tony flew off, they both occupied their own motorbikes and whizzed off after him.

It seemed to take them forever to actually arrive, the minutes feeling like hours. They pushed the bikes to go as fast as possible, but weaving through traffic made it take longer than they would have liked. It was funny how the regular civilians were completely unaware of the great danger the Avengers knew of. While the team was scrambling to save one of their own from a fiery death, the people were just continuing on with daily life, their biggest worries involving getting home in time for dinner or getting that big promotion. It just went to show how drastically different the life of an Avenger was compared to what was considered 'normal'.

The three of them finally got there to find that Wanda and Falcon had beaten them and were currently helping Rhodey to clear the place. People were in a panic as they rushed for the doors at breakneck speeds, some jumping over others in the hopes of surviving any explosions.

"You took your time," Sam teased them as he met them at the gate. "But good job getting through to Rhodey, he was already clearing the place when we got here."

Tony looked at him, puzzled, "I didn't."

Steve and Clint ran past him, the place was mostly clear. What was going on, how did Rhodey know- they had an idea though. "Hawkeye, find and disable that bomb. I'll get Rhodey to safety."

"You got it, Cap." Clint veered off, heading to go backstage. As he ran past the stage, he heard something- ticking. It took him a whole second before he followed the sound, ducking into the small space under the stage; a swirl of red caught his attention and he joined Natasha next to the bomb. The fact that she had turned up to make sure Rhodey wasn't harmed really showed him that he had been wrong to push her aside and made him feel stupid for believing her lies. She knew how to get to him and used it- and he fell for it. He was riddled with guilt."Nat…"

"It's a triple trigger, it's on a timer but I don't know when it's set to go off," Natasha interrupted him. Straight down to business.

His eyes scanned the bomb, it was a new design but he had seen similar, "Triple? Three wires disconnected at the same time." He muttered as she thrusted a piece of paper at him, he scanned it. Bomb Specs. He quickly gathered the information needed and shoved the paper into his pocket as he placed his bow down. "After this, we need to talk."

Natasha groaned, pulling out three knifes and handing him two. "Count of three," she replied, obviously ignoring his words as one hand pulled at the plastic and she slipped the knife in. "1… 2…"

Clint was ready, both knives ready to cut the wires when he heard gunfire. "3." Without hesitation he cut the wires, thankfully she did too. Otherwise, they'd both have died instantly. He grabbed his bow and noticed her sneaking off. "We have to talk."

"Now this second?" Natasha questioned, looking back at him before kicking the side of the stage and shooting. "I'm listening."

Clint cursed as he went in the opposite direction, he needed a better vantage point. However, as he got out, it turned out that whatever the commotion had been- it had been revolved.

"Hawk, the bomb?" Steve questioned, approaching him.

"Disabled. Where's Nat?" Clint asked, looking around for her.

Steve looked at him confused, "Natasha was here?"

Clint nodded and let out a sigh, trust her to take off now. He walked over to Rhodey, wanting to know how he knew about the threat, he had a sneaking suspicion that it was Natasha. "You alright?" he asked.

Rhodey looked away from Tony and nodded, "I'm fine. Was all of this fuss necessary?"

"Why'd you clear out the place?" Clint questioned, ignoring his question.

"Romanoff told me to, there was a bomb and she was having trouble disarming it," Rhodey answered easily before looking slightly skeptical. "Has the bomb been disabled?"

Clint noticed that all eyes went straight to him, that was afterall, why he had come. "Yes, it's been disabled." He was torn for a moment before looking at Tony seriously, "I'm going after Nat, I need _you_ to look after Laura and the kids?"

Tony actually looked rather put-off, "Me? With kids?"

"Yes."

"Whose Laura? And what kids?" Rhodey asked.

Tony nodded, "Go and get her. And don't worry, I'll head back now."

Clint was feeling even more unsure about not going straight back to his family, but he trusted Tony and they _needed_ Natasha and whatever information she had. He watched Tony fly off before scanning the surroundings and taking off. He knew Natasha, he was sure he could work out where she would go. Only a mile into his search, did he change directions- where would she go if she wanted him to find him.

As he stepped into the abandoned building, his hand clutched the bow in his hand as the other was hovering, ready to get an arrow and embed it anything of threat.

"You wanted to talk?" Natasha asked, stepping out into the light.

Clint turned and looked at her, after a second he lowered his arm and relaxed, "I did." He confirmed.

There was a long silence between them, neither of them moved a muscle, their breathing slow and steady as they stared at each other.

"Come back to the tower and explain yourself- we want to know everything." Clint eventually stated before turning and walking out of the building. He veered right and slid into the driver's seat- the keys were in the ignition- and waited only a few seconds before Natasha slid into the passenger seat.

* * *

 **Thank you for reading! I'll love a review!**

 **Thanks you to ThisVioletofMine and Sanctuaria for being amazing individuals!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Author's note:**

 **Hello! Here is another... chapter. I can't say lovely chapter, seeing as this story started with the death of a child.**

 **Huge thank you to my amazing reviewers of the last chapter: TheJollyRoger; Alaina E; TheNaggingCube; Ninja0404 is a fanfiction geek. You all make me the happiest person ever :D**

* * *

Clint's arm was resting around Laura, he glanced at the tablet in her hands which had a live recording to their children who were being looked after by Rhodey. He looked across at Tony and Steve who were occupying the other settee before finally turning his full attention to Natasha.

"In your own time," Tony muttered impatiently. Natasha had promised to come clean moments ago, but had so far, not spoken.

Clint was starting to get impatient as well, and this silence from the person who was supposed to be spilling long-overdue information was trying his nerves. "Come on, Natasha. Start at the beginning." He prompted. The remark, though not said too rudely, earned him a slight nudge and a reprimanding look from Laura.

Natasha's eyes narrowed at him. "I got a mission from Fury. I started it. Cover got blown when I left it." She said very shortly.

Okay, that was nowhere _near_ enough to satisfy Clint. "Could you be any more vague?" He snarked, getting another nudge but ignoring it. His son was-! … His son was _dead_ because of whatever had occurred on this mission of hers, and she had the gall to describe it in three incomplete sentences? He needed answers!

Steve cleared his throat in warning. "Clint, let her do this her way." He said patiently. "I'm sure Natasha has more to say on the matter. Right, Natasha?" He asked pointedly.

"What was the mission?" Laura asked softly.

"Fury received some intel that the Avengers and a few close friends were being targeted by the KGB. We needed to know what intel they had and if it was a real threat- I reached out." Natasha looked very irritated at having to talk and explain herself. "It required deep cover, so I tested the waters and found a way in. We kept you all out because most of you aren't known for your discretion." She looked pointedly at Tony.

Tony looked offended, "What is…" he paused. "Continue."

"Continue with what. I answered what the mission was."

"Damnit, Natasha!" Clint snapped, clenching his fist. "Tell us _everything_! All of the details! _All_ of them!" Laura placed a hand on his chest and he settled slightly, but his gaze was still demanding.

She frowned. "When undercover, I found the plans for the assassination attempts, they were all set to be accidents. But, whilst digging, I discovered that they reopened the Red Rooms. We couldn't intervene until we found out where they were, but didn't get an exact location to the second when Clint's family came into the equation- there was no evidence that they even knew Clint had a wife, let alone the location. End of story, any questions?" She asked, slightly sarcastically.

Steve had begun shaking his head when Clint interrupted.

"Yes, _lots_ of questions! When did my family suddenly 'come into the equation'?" He asked angrily. The thought of those slimy bastards knowing of his family… The entire concept made his blood boil.

"About six seconds before I shot five agents and blew my cover." She answered blankly.

Tony leant forward, "How were they planning on killing me? I couldn't find it?"

"They were going to kill Pepper and then somebody would help you drink yourself to death." Natasha informed him.

They all paled considerably at the thought.

Clint swallowed thickly before finding his voice to ask one of the hardest questions. He wasn't sure he could do it, but he _needed_ to know. "Was Coop's-" His voice cracked a little and he inhaled sharply before continuing. "Was Cooper's… Was it planned?" There, it was out. Well, he hadn't technically used _all_ of the words, but she seemed to understand what he was asking just the same.

Natasha shrugged, "They were vague. Just said that you'd be on your knees begging."

Clint growled and ducked his head, jaw clenched impossibly tight as Laura gasped a little. Those bastards…

He could hear Steve as he leant forward. "Why were they vague about that but not about their plans to kill Stark?" He asked. "Stark is more prominent than Clint, sure, but what they did… it was too malicious to just be another going through the motions type of plan. They would have taken some sort of sick pride in thinking it up. Surely they were more descriptive?" That sent chills down Clint's spine. _Pride? They were proud of what they'd come up with? They were proud of deciding to kill a_ child? He was going to be sick.

"That was my fault. They didn't tell me anything about it before hand and the agents were already enroute. I interrupted them before they could fully indulge their plan." She admitted.

"That wasn't very smart," Tony said halfheartedly. "If a villain is dumb enough to go through their plans for you- _let them_. It makes superhero-ing a lot easier." But the implications that those sick people had enjoyed the idea of killing a little boy was clearly weighing on him, even if only a little.

Clint just nodded along, now almost numb. He could see his foot tapping agitatedly, but couldn't feel the vibrations from each small impact. It was like his world was in slow motion and underwater all at once, and his head was almost spinning. What kind of monsters would do such a thing? He'd thought he'd seen the worst of humanity- but he'd been wrong. So very, very wrong. Even the most hardened of spies could be taken off guard.

"Sure, Stark. Next time I'll let them finish speaking. Because that is definitely a priority." Natasha sarcastically agreed. "I've told you everything." She declared, sitting down.

But no, that didn't feel like the last of it. Surely there was more…? There had to be more. Why did it feel so incomplete in his mind? But he said nothing, emotionally drained and physically sapped of energy as a result.

"Thank you, Natasha." Steve said, clearly trying to keep the peace. "That brings some closure."

Ah. That's what was wrong. The information was laying flat out in front of him; the facts, the details, everything. But with them came no feeling of closure. His heart was still just as wounded as before, if not more so. There came no desire to move on. He just felt lost.

Tony was standing up too, giving an order to Jarvis that Clint didn't bother paying attention to.

Natasha cleared her throat and slipped a pile of folded papers out of her back pocket, holding it out for Clint. "That's who shot him, if you wanted to know. He's dead but… that's him. I'm sorry you couldn't be the one to pull the trigger."

Clint couldn't find it in himself to reach out and take it, instead letting Laura take it. He wasn't sure he could bear to look at the face of the man who had taken his son from him- not right now, at least.

"Thank you, Nat." Laura replied kindly, speaking for her husband as he grieved.

* * *

Clint stepped into Tony's lab, "Can I talk to you about something?" he asked instantly, glancing around.

Tony nodded, "Sure thing, legolas. Come on in, i'm just doing some security checks." He replied before pausing his tapping on the keyboard.

"I know you've already done so much for me, but I was wondering if I could ask a few favours from you," Clint began instantly. He was usually a very direct person.

"Go on."

"I was wondering if you could help with the burial arrangements for Cooper and find a secure place for my family." He told him, not wanting to beat around the bush.

Tony nodded easily with a sympathetic expression. "Sure, Clint." He said. He clearly knew that silly nicknames didn't belong in a conversation about Clint's deceased son. "Any preferences? I can get you basically anything- got plenty of resources."

Clint looked down, "I… don't know." He wasn't sure which thing Tony was referring to about preferences. The secure place? Or the funeral?

Tony chewed his lip in thought before pulling up a new tab and typing for several minutes. He finally paused and enlarged the display to show Clint. "Found this place- totally off the map and can be paid for in cash, no questions asked." He informed. There was an image of a rather nice little house in the middle of nowhere.

With a shake of his head, Clint finally sat down. "I don't want them to be in the middle of nowhere… where they have nowhere to run and hide. Look what happened before? It didn't work. There needs to be a _safer_ place."

"Got it." Tony replied, shrinking the image and getting back to work. "How about this?" He asked a few minutes later. "It's in a small town with neighbors nearby- but not _too_ nearby so you'd have some privacy. The town square is ten minutes walking."

Clint examined it. "That look's nice… can you check with Laura? And add loads of security. So much that we know how many spiders are in the house."

"Can do, Captain." Tony said lightly, already in the process of purchasing the house. "And the image has been sent to Laura."

"What schools are nearby? Private schools? Safe schools?" Clint questioned.

Tony peered at the screen and typed in a search. "There's a Catholic school, Saint Grace Anne's… Then there's a public middle school and high school, and then there's another private school, but it's only for boys aged twelve and up. All have optimal health and safety scores and each has at least one form of security." He listed.

"That private school would be perfect…" Clint cut off, Cooper didn't need a school. "Tell me about Saint Grace Anne's schools, please."

Tony clicked on the school's site and began reading off information. "They take boys and girls ages four through eighteen, and there's a special daycare building attached that cares for children ages one through three. Their education quality was ranked second best in the county, and the tuition is easily taken care of. They offer overnight boarding to homeless children… yada yada… Their lunches are well-balanced and nutritious, and their classes are split up into two-day spans; for example, Red Days have certain classes, then the following day, a White Day, has the other classes, and they alternate. This allows for longer class periods and less homework. This place sounds great! Wish my dad had sent me there instead of Andrew Jacobs Academy…" Tony reflected.

"And it's safe?" Clint asked. "What's the security like?"

Tony typed away at the keyboard once more. "Pretty impressive, actually. They obviously don't allow weapons on the premises, but they also have regular checks and have all new visitors go through a security scan. The doors lock from the inside, and after classes are officially started for the day, anyone wishing to gain entrance has to ring the bell- apparently there's a camera by the main door so the women in the office can see who they are. Then the office personnel unlock it. Anyone without an ID or other form of confirmation isn't allowed entry. Seems pretty safe for a private school in a small town."

"I like it- check with Laura first but… that sounds great." Clint admitted with a smile. Lila had never been to school before, it'll be nice for her to have some more normalcy.

"Awesome!" Tony said with a smile before getting back to typing. "Anything else you need?"

"Funeral arrangements…" Clint reminded him, looking away. "But… we could talk about that later… although, Laura wants to have the funeral soon, she wants to lay him down for rest."

Tony nodded sympathetically and started up another search. "Don't worry, I'll handle it. You don't want anything too extravagant, right? Just a simple funeral to honour your son?" He clarified gently.

"Yeah. Just quiet and simple, just… us."

"Alright, I can do that." Tony said, focusing intensely on the screen. He was putting his honest attention solely on the task, and it was touching. Tony was a notorious multitasker, so this focus spoke volumes.

"Thanks, Tony. This means a lot to me." Clint told him sincerely but had to leave the room after a few more minutes, seeing the coffins and flowers up on the screen was just too much- he couldn't break down now, not yet. He had to be strong for Lila, Nate and Laura.

* * *

Cooper's funeral was small and beautiful. He was going to be buried in a private graveyard, the same one that Tony's father and mother were buried.

Lila was attending, after much deliberation, but Laura and he decided she was old enough and it would be good for her to have a chance to say goodbye. Nathaniel, however, was being looked after by Vision and Pepper.

Clint approached the oak coffin, placing a hand on the closed casket; the only thing Cooper ever did wrong, was having him as a father. "I'm sorry, Coop."

A few minutes later, he felt a hand on his shoulder and almost jerked. He stepped out of the way, glancing back at Laura, her face an image of his, tears down both cheeks without restraint. He lifted a hand and wiped one cheek clean before walking off to the edge of the room. "Fury." He greeted, almost coldly as he wiped his tears.

"I'm sorry Clint,"

"I don't blame you."

"You shouldn't blame her either." Clint looked over towards Natasha who was hugging a very distraught Lila. Natasha was managing to keep her tears in, but he could easily see how much this was affecting her.

"I don't."

Fury nodded. "I came to give my regards and offer a new safehouse-"

Clint cut him off, "Because that worked so well last time." He retorted sarcastically. "I'm sorting that out myself. Is there anything else? If not, I have a daughter to comfort."

"When you are ready, I have a mission."

"I don't work for S.H.I.E.L.D anymore, and I certainly do not work for you." Clint stated, "I'm an avenger, a father and a husband; I don't have time for anything else."

Fury nodded before they both turned and headed in different directions.

"Lila, go to your Dad." Natasha whispered, brushing the younger girl's hair out of the way as he approached them.

Lila didn't hesitate to let go of Natasha and cling onto Clint instead, "I wanna go home." She cried.

"I know, me too." Clint muttered as he lifted her into his arms and walked them both back to the car. With a look over his shoulder, he saw Natasha approach Laura, Tony talking to the priest/minister and Steve. This was the funeral he wanted, simple and only allowing people who knew Cooper, and who he trusted to come.

He slipped into the car with Lila on his lap and pulled the door closed, shielding them from the outside, from the horror of what was going on a few meters from their current location.

* * *

 **Fury is being pretty insensitive.**

 **Thank you for reading! I'd love a little review (Even though I'm rubbish at replying to them lately! Just so busy!)**


	7. Chapter 7

**Author's Note:**

 **Welcome to this chapter of the story!**

 **To my reviewers of the last chapter! Thank you! Sorry that is was so sad! TheJollyRoger (Hmm, you'll see where it goes. It's almost over); ELOSHAZZY; TheNaggingCube; grossly-sweet; discordchick; Alaina E; toshirolovehim (yay, thank you).**

 **My apologies if I don't reply to reviews, time is a funny thing, and I can never remember if I did or did not reply. Any questions, please, PM me, I almost always reply to them! And I'd love to hear from you :)**

* * *

Natasha eyed the plans up one last time, thankful that they were able to officially locate the second Red Room- that meant they could take them both out at the same time without worrying about giving their plan away. She then glanced around the room at everybody, surprised that _all_ of the Avengers were here; she guessed that this is what it was like to have real friends.

Clint stepped forward. "We need to split into two teams- four of us can fly, so it'll be two of you in each team." He began, being the first to actually speak up since Tony briefed everybody. "One girl in each team, too, because that apparently helps if we need a woman's touch for anything."

Natasha nodded, knowing what he meant.

Tony snorted, quickly getting a disapproving look from Rhodey. "Sorry, just seems like a fairly outlandish specification, is all." He said. "We need as much manpower- and no, I don't mean that in the sexist way- as we can get, so we can't be picky about who is in what team. We need the strongest people for the main fighting- Nat, that includes you."

"Hang on," Rhodey argued. "She would know the layout of the place better than any of us, and she would know how to treat the kids to get their cooperation- she'll be needed with evacuation."

Natasha rolled her eyes; they were all idiots. "Two on each team should focus on evacuation where possible. But the priority will be to blow both places up and kill anybody in charge. We don't want them able to recreate it- again. That also means somebody needs to copy and wipe everything they have on their computers, too." She pointed out.

"You want us to blow it up, steal information and rescue children… who might try and murder us?" Sam clarified. "That sounds impossible."

"But it's _not_ impossible; therefore it must be attempted." Vision chipped in from the back of the group. They turned to look at him curiously for a second before getting back to business.

"Alright, so we need an evac squad, an explosives squad, and the kill squad. How do we divvy up those roles?" Tony asked as he began typing into a device on his wrist.

"Four per team, so one to blow everything up, one to make sure nobody gets out and help blow stuff up, one to start evac, one to get the information and then help with evac. Sound good?" Clint asked, looking around.

"Sounds good," Rhodey answered with a determined nod. "Who's in each category, again? Do I get to make it go boom?" He asked, childish hopefulness on his face.

Clint nodded. "Sure. You and Tony can focus on explosives. Vision, Sam- you two are both flyers, so you'll be on the outside, making sure nobody escapes and to offer evac to one of us Avengers if time's running out. Which leaves…"

"I can get the intel and then join Steve for evac- and you can get intel from…" Natasha started, stating the most logically plan.

"No." Clint interrupted her. "I'm going with you." She turned to look at him with confusion.

"That doesn't give us the best advantage."

"I am going to be on the same team as you." Clint stated.

Natasha rolled her eyes; idiots, every single one of them. "Wanda, how are you on a computer?" She questioned.

The younger agent nodded. "Just tell me what to do, and I'll do it."

"You know, there's someone else here who's a computer genius…" Tony grumbled. "Why does nobody pick me? I get _paired_ with Rhodey- not _picked_. It's like school all over again." As he continued his pouting, Rhodey rolled his eyes and said, "What's the time limit going to be? How long'll we have?"

"Tony- you won't be going with Rhodey." Clint pointed out.

Natasha touched the screen. "Realistically, before they see it coming, we should have blown it up. But, we're getting the children out, so, when we are discovered, expect heavy gunfire within thirty seconds. When that starts, one minute."

"And how are you going to protect the children from the heavy gunfire, may I ask?" Vision inquired. "Especially as they'll be brainwashed to fight your rescue attempts."

"The Rooms haven't been going on for any longer than eight months. If they started around the same ages; they'll be between six and ten, and not fully brainwashed yet- hopefully." Natasha informed them.

Wanda looked down solemnly. "If the children don't come willingly… we'll have to either take them by force or leave them, won't we?"

They all looked somber for a moment before Sam perked up. "Wait, Wanda- can't you knock them out?"

She looked at him with uncertainty. "Maybe… but I might just give them severe nightmares… like I did with you lot." She said, pointing to the original Avengers.

Natasha nodded. "If you can knock them out, that's good. Go on to the boys' Red Room. I'll have a better chance at convincing the girls to stand down." She rationalised. "Steve can carry them to the roof or somewhere and then… Vision, fly them to specified point."

Vision dipped his head in agreement. "Very well."

"Well… is that everything? I feel like we're missing something." Tony piped up. "I want us to be fully prepped, but at the same time, we _are_ on a time limit, here."

Natasha checked the time. "We should hit at 5:55; if they are following the same pattern, that's when all the of children will be uncuffed from their beds. That'll be the best window to get them out. They'll also be the least prepared throughout the entire day."

They all nodded in understanding. "Everyone ready?" Tony asked, standing up and starting the process of applying his Iron Man suit.

Rhodey did the same, striking a menacing pose when he was concealed in the silver War Machine. "Ready." He was followed by a chorus of 'Ready's'.

* * *

Rhodey and Sam were flying in to do the real damage to the girls' compound, Clint hanging from Rhodey's arm and Nat being held under the armpits by Sam. Clint was dropped onto the roof first, triggering an alarm which was quickly blown up by Rhodey- so much for not alerting them. He waited a few seconds for Natasha, looking around carefully to make sure there were no hostiles.

Clint followed Natasha as she navigated to the halls; they were planning on splitting up at a certain point, him to secure the children and her to secure the required information.

"Alright," he said as he recognised the point they'd chosen for splitting up. There were two hallways, and he'd be going down the one on the left. "Here's where I get off. Be careful." He advised, beginning to sneak in the opposite direction as her.

She rolled her eyes and told him to be careful as well, and then he turned a corner and she was out of sight. _Alright, where's the- ah!_ It was fairly easy to find the room where the children- well, the younger children, at least, according to the small sign by the door- were being kept. There was a lock on the door, which he didn't hesitate to break with a two swift hits with his bow. He opened the door and felt his heart drop at the seven young girls- one of them couldn't have been older than five.

They were all looking at him with wide, terrified eyes. "Who are you?" A tiny brunette asked in a squeak, still too young to be trained into emotionlessness.

"I'm here to rescue you." He said simply, going around and checking on the security cameras hidden throughout the room, making sure they were turned off or rotated away from the small group.

"Rescue?" The five-year-old asked quietly.

"It's a trick." A blonde said, stepping back. "I'm loyal to the… Red Room." She stated in a timid voice, sitting on her bed.

He knelt down to their level to be less intimidating, which seemed to help them calm down significantly. "Girls, this isn't a trick. You might be loyal to the Red Room, but they're not loyal to you. They'll hurt you, make you learn to kill people. Do you want to grow up to be their slaves? To be their personal assassins, killing the innocent?" He said solemnly, making solid eye contact to show them he was being genuine. "My friend used to be like you- and there's not a day that goes by that she doesn't wish she'd escaped this place sooner. Things might be okay now, but when you're older, they'll start bringing in people for you to use as killing practice. Innocent people." The girls looked absolutely horrified, even the conscientious objector from before.

"Barton, no need to give them a lecture." Natasha commented from behind him. "Girls, follow him and you'll get ice cream and won't be handcuffed to a bed." She addressed them before looking back at him. "Get them to the roof and I'll get the older ones." And just like that, she was gone.

The blonde girl stood from her bed and took the hands of the two smallest children. "Let's get out of here." She said firmly, though her eyes were still terrified. Clint nodded gratefully at her and shepherded the remaining four through the door, setting up a handholding system to keep them all together. A four-year-old, the smallest and youngest, stepped up to him as they carefully made their way through the halls, tugging on his pant leg. He glanced down at her in question.

Her big brown eyes were watery. "Wath that the fwend who wath like uth?" She lisped around two missing front teeth. His gaze softened, and, after checking around a corner and ushering the girls around it, offered an answer.

"Yes, she was. Her name is Nat, and she's going to make sure all of you and your friends get to safety." He explained. She sniffled.

"Hewe eyes wewe like the oldewe girls hewe…" She said sadly. That gave Clint pause, though he didn't outwardly show it as he continued leading the line of children to the roof. Her eyes reminded this little girl of the older Red Room girls? Was that something that never went away, then? He'd always assumed it was just Natasha being… well, Natasha. But to know that, even after escaping the Red Room and fighting against it, she still bore the look of one of the victims of this horrible place… He shuddered and didn't reply to the child, who popped a thumb into her mouth and didn't ask any more questions.

There were two guards at the door to the roof, but thankfully they didn't see Clint as he peeked around the corner at them. Sighing, he turned to the children who were starting to shake in fear. They'd probably never thought to disobey the Red Room before, so this was most likely the most stressful thing they'd done in their young lives.

"Alright, I need you girls to close your eyes and cover your ears, okay?" He asked gently. They whimpered, but slowly each one did as told. Satisfied, he launched around the corner and fired two arrows, each expertly meeting their marks in the men's left shoulders. They let out choking yells before collapsing and going quiet.

Clint sprinted around the corner and hurried the girls past the bleeding bodies, trying not to let them get too long of a look, and led them up the flights of stairs until they had reached the gravel rooftop. He flipped on his comm unit.

"Nat? Where are you? We're on the roof."

"Heading out a different way. Has Sam got the kids off the roof yet? We have to blow this place up _now_." Her reply came instantly and she sounded out of breath.

"Shit." He switched frequencies. "Sam? _Sam_! I've got seven kids on the roof in need of immediate evac. I repeat, seven kids, immediate evac! This place is gonna blow soon!" He shouted frantically. Where _was_ he?

"Alright, I'm on my way." Sam replied, making Clint sigh in relief. Thirty seconds later, a dirtied Sam landed on the rooftop, gravel crunching under his heavy impact. "Who's coming first?" He asked calmly, repeating Clint's technique of crouching down to be less intimidating. None of the children stepped forward at first, but then the four-year-old raised a hand timidly.

"I'we go if Katie goeth." She said, gesturing to the blonde girl, who shook a little and nodded. Sam grabbed the pair and carried one under each arm, quickly flying off, the startled shrieks of little girls drifting back in his wake. He returned thirty seconds later and grabbed the next two girls, then repeated the process until only Clint and one little girl remained.

That's when half of the building exploded behind them, the whole building beginning to crumble beneath them. But Clint knew that that wasn't one of the explosives they'd brought.

Clint quickly grabbed the remaining girl and sheltered her with his body, eyes clenched shut. She started sobbing and screaming in his arms, curling up against him in a pitiful attempt to hide from the loud explosion. Then a pair of arms picked Clint up, bridal-style, and carried the two to safety.

After they were solidly on the ground, he and Sam led the girls quickly up into the waiting quinjet, where Clint immediately commed Natasha.

"Nat, seriously, where are you?" He demanded. One girl started sobbing, so he picked her up without a thought and cradled her close, rocking back and forth. Sometimes he forgot how much having his own little girl affected his mission behaviour.

"These kids are stubborn little fuckers- yes, I'm talking about you. March!" Natasha's voice came through the comms, only partially talking to him. "Be there in a moment."

"I'll hold you to that." He warned before signing off. "It's okay, kid, you're safe now." He soothed, sighing in exasperation when the four-year-old latched onto his leg with no signs of letting go any time soon. Then the blonde clutched at his other leg. Two other girls joined them, holding onto him for dear life, only one of them crying. The other two were sticking close to each other. Then there was one seven-year-old who was eyeing him stoically from her seat on the floor. Sam was watching him in amusement. Clint only glared at him until he flew off to help evacuate the older girls.

Sam returned a second later. "I thought she was scary before." He muttered right before nineteen children, aging between eight and thirteen, marched- military style- onto the quinjet, their hands on their heads.

"Take a seat and keep your hands where I can see them." Natasha ordered, to which they all obeyed.

"Jessie!" The little brunette cried, leaping from Clint's shoulders to embrace one of the older girls, the resemblance between them enough to indicate the two being siblings. "I was so scared! But we're okay! You're okay!" She cried into her older sister's shoulder. The older girl's stoic expression softened as she returned the hug carefully, eyeing Nat suspiciously.

"Permission granted." Natasha muttered.

Jessie instantly relaxed, holding her younger tighter and closing her eyes. "I'm okay. Don't worry."

A few of the younger and older girls looked at Natasha. "Siblings have permission with sit with one another, but any violent behaviour and there will be consequences."

Two of the non-crying little koalas detached from Clint and went to sit beside their older counterparts, though there were no waterworks involved- just civil greetings and requests to join the older siblings on the floor. It was rather sad to see the emotional detachment between the girls and their family members.

After they were all settled in, Sam and Clint went to the cockpit and left Natasha to supervise the children, seeing as she was the only one who could effectively control them. Clint fired up the engine and Sam steered the takeoff.

"Let's get these girls back to base."

* * *

 **Thank you for reading!**

 **I'll update the next chapter in a few days :D**


	8. Chapter 8

**Author's Note:**

 **Would like to thank my amazing beta; ThisVioletofMine! You are amazing, thank you :)**

 **I have one very, very amazing individual to thank! Alaina E. Thank you for reviewing my last chapter!**

 **Thank you to everybody who has fav'ed or followed the story!**

* * *

Clint navigated the extensive hallways easily in search of Natasha, who he'd been told would be sorting through her nightly paperwork in the study at around this time. He finally reached the door and knocked twice, in a pattern he knew she would associate with him.

"Enter." Natasha called after a second- possibly a hesitation?

He pushed the door open and approached her at the desk she was working at. "How much work do you have left?" He asked conversationally, eyeing the forms she was scrutinizing.

Natasha glanced up at him. "I can always find more work, but if you have work for me, I definitely have time." She replied. It was obvious that she was immersing herself in work.

Clint sighed and dropped into one of the chairs opposite her. "No, I was just checking in on you- you've been on radio silence for a week."

"There's a lot of paperwork, and I don't see anybody else doing it." Natasha answered before finally looking at him directly. "I didn't think you would notice."

He felt slightly offended. "Of course I noticed!" He defended. "Who else is going to keep you from drowning yourself in work?"

She placed the folder down. "I definitely didn't think it would be you." She admitted. "Steve has made sure I eat breakfast, lunch and dinner, though." She paused. "How're Lila, Nate and Laura?"

"They're doing fine," he replied, not commenting on the abrupt change of subject. "What are you working on?"

"Five of the children's parents were murdered- two of the sisters, one of the younger girls and two of the boys." Natasha informed him. "Tony wants to sort something out that enables us to keep them for a while and make sure that they are not permanently affected." She paused. "So far the three parents we have found have agreed to 'support classes' for their children after the trauma they have endured. I'm sorting all of that out; I don't want these children to suffer like I did."

Clint nodded in understanding and agreement; those children had been through far too much, and didn't need any more suffering piled on. "That's very noble of you," he said, tone somewhat teasing but wholly sincere. "It's good that you care so much for the cause."

Natasha nodded. "What brings you down here?" She asked knowingly.

He sighed. "To… officially make up." He said slowly; 'making up' with people was an awkward affair.

"You haven't done anything wrong." Natasha started. "And I do not expect forgiveness from you after I… descriptively told you that I'd raise Lila in the Red Room style instead of killing her when listing all of the ways I'd kill the whole team. That was a step too far, even if it was to maintain a cover."

Clint sighed, leaning forward; he should have known something was fishy when she had threatened that. "You do need to forgive me. You told me your mission, but I was too stubborn to listen. You told me you'd go after the team and how- which is what the KGB were doing. And you mentioned the Red Room. I should have known that was your way of passing intel."

Natasha shook her head. "I don't need to forgive you, Clint. You haven't done anything that requires forgiveness from me."

Clint shook his head. "Please? For my peace of mind, would you just say you forgive me?" He asked, not caring that it sounded pretty pathetic. Even if she didn't think he needed forgiveness, there was this presence in the back of his mind insisting that he most certainly did.

"I forgive you for being an annoying jackass." Natasha replied teasingly. "Feel better now?"

"Completely," he answered with a smirk. He leaned back in his seat. "We're moving into our new house today, and, well, I know Lila would sleep better if you slept over for a few days." He snorted. "She's only asked for you _eight times_ this morning."

Natasha laughed. "It'll be my pleasure."

* * *

Clint was leaning against the wall next to the front door of the orphanage; he didn't have to check the time to know that the bus was a minute late. Usually he didn't take notice of what time the bus arrived at the orphanage, but in the last two months, Lila had taken the bus on Mondays and Wednesdays.

It wasn't his idea- it was Lila's; she had become best friends with one of the girls at the orphanage and had insisted.

Things had really changed over the last year since Cooper had died and they'd moved into a new house. Especially when they decided to send Lila to school; although they still hadn't put Nathaniel into school- he was still too young, thankfully.

He looked up when the bus pulled up, a whole three minutes late, and eight children came running out all at once, including his daughter.

"Dad! Are they here yet?" Lila asked, running up to him.

Clint returned her half hug; they had seen each other this morning, so it wasn't one of her overly excited hugs to see him- which were his favourite. "Who?" He questioned.

"The family who might adopt Kelly!" Lila replied.

Clint looked at Kelly, one of Lila's friends and a former Red Room girl. "Is that today? You'd better go and get cleaned up, then!" He replied with a smile, watching as they both ran off.

When Lila had started becoming friends with all of the children at this orphanage, he had been concerned. All of them had been in one of the Red Rooms for a maximum of a year. He wasn't sure if he wanted his daughter to be associated with them, but that wouldn't be fair on either of them. At least if she was friends with those here, he could make sure she was protected.

After Tony set up the orphanage for all of the Red Room children who no longer had a family to go back to, Natasha began running it. She was the best at helping the children as she knew what they had gone through.

Clint looked up again when a couple approached him. "Good afternoon." He greeted civilly.

"Good afternoon. I'm Quinn and this is my husband, Jason." The woman greeted; she was in her mid-to-late thirties.

"Pleasure to meet you, Mr. and Mrs. Albert." Clint greeted, offering no explanation as to how he knew their names. "There's a very excited little girl inside… two, actually, but one of them is my daughter."

The two potential parents laughed. "You adopted here from here, too?" The father asked.

Clint cleared his throat slightly awkwardly. "Actually, no- this orphanage… it was made in memory of my late son, Cooper." He informed them, idly pointing to the sign, 'Cooper's Orphanage'. "My daughter is friends with almost every child here, so it's like a second home to her; her aunt runs it, too." He explained, wondering if he was going into too much detail.

"It's a very lovely idea, opening the orphanage." Quinn Albert replied softly.

"Don't let me hold you up! Please, go on in." Clint opened the door for them and then followed them in. "Lila, are you ready?" He asked her when he noticed her standing with Kelly.

"Can I stay here tonight, Dad?" Lila asked.

He shook his head. "Not tonight, Sweetheart. Your mother is expecting us; come on."

Lila hugged Kelly before running off to say goodbye to everybody else, eventually running back to him. "Okay, ready!" She declared.

Clint placed his hand on her upper back as he walked her to the car; keeping her close in public was a habit he still hasn't been able to break. There was still a certain danger at being in his life, but every time he saw his daughter smile, he knew he'd do anything to keep it there. As he started the car and took off, a thought occurred to him. "I was thinking: on days that I pick you up, why don't you just head to the orphanage? That way if I'm running late or something comes up, I know you'll be in safe hands."

"Really? Yes! That'd be great! Can I have my phone to text Aunt Nat and some of the girls?" Lila asked politely.

"Of course; it's in the glove compartment." Clint replied. He saw her take out her phone. "Ten minutes- then I want to hear about your day."

Lila laughed. "Okay, Dad."

Clint looked forward, giving the road his attention. It was only a half an hour drive from the orphanage to their home, which was longer than the fifteen minute drive he'd have if he made her take the bus to the closest secure stop to where they live, but that wouldn't make his daughter quite as happy.

He spent a lot more time making sure his children and wife were happy these days, which was more satisfying than anybody could imagine. In a way, his life was more fulfilled. But there was still this giant hole in his chest that didn't reduce and never would reduce. Missing his son would be eternal, and nothing could change that, but it also opened his eyes about life. About how much time he should spend with his family, and who was really looking out for his best interests.

 **The End.**

* * *

 **Thank you for reading! This story has my favourite opening chapter and my favourite end scene, I've ever written!**

 **I hope you all liked it!**

 **Huge thank you to everybody that has reviewed any chapter, followed, read or fav'ed the story! It means a lot to me.**

 **Hope to see you again in the future!**


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